Frozen Wasteland
by black-klepon
Summary: America was sent by the military to investigate Norydvask Zen, a land in the far north. He was about to return, when the sudden extreme weather forced him to back down... and survive. Will he be able to defy the military when the situation called?
1. Chapter 1

Warning(s): Language, shonen-ai/slight yaoi

Pairing(s): Eventual America/England, slight Germany/N. Italy, Spain/Romano, and few other possible pairings

Summary: America was sent by the military to investigate Norydvask Zen, a land in the far north. He was about to return, when the sudden extreme weather forced him to back down... and survive. Will he be able to defy the military when the situation called?

A/N: Written in response to the extreme weather the northern countries are having, and also my first time experiencing minus 32 degree Celsius. Alternate Universe, more to the modern era technology... and probably crazy events.

* * *

Chapter 1

"America!"

Said man opened the cockpit hatch and poked his head out. "Yeah?"

"Come down here, will you? It's not funny for me to shout for you all the way down here."

A few seconds later the plane's engine slowed down into a stop, and America easily jumped from the cockpit, landing perfectly beside Canada. "What's up, Canada?"

"Wha- Oh yeah! Brigadier-General said that he wanted to meet you, so I figured I'd call you over along." Canada explained.

Tilting his head, America muttered aloud, "I wonder what it is about."

"You should go and meet him, seems like he's got something for you." Canada shrugged airily.

At Canada's answer America beamed up. "Oh yeah! Maybe he's got a mission for a hero like me!"

Nodding his head, Canada joined America in his excitement. "Yeah, maybe that's it!" But after a quick consideration, he added, "whatever it is though, I hope you could come back quickly. I've heard people whispering about General Yao's visit here few days later."

America had since been shaking even before Canada finished his sentence, and he looked like he could burst out anytime.

"Really?! As in, General Yao of the Huolong Base?!" He grabbed Canada's shoulder and began shaking him with quite some force that the latter's glasses were threatening to fall off.

"Y-Y-Ye-ah! That one!" Canada managed to stutter. When America released his grip he stumbled backwards first, before regaining his balance back and fixed his glasses. Really, this leader of his seemed to never realize his own strength. "You better be quick though."

Without any warning whatsoever, America bolted off, leaving Canada in the hangar. He could only vaguely hear Canada's yell, "…and don't forget to fix your uniform and take your jacket off!"

Canada could only sigh as he watched his leader disappear at the corner. He and America aren't genetically related, actually. But they had similar faces… and completely opposite personalities. For some reasons unknown they just got along well - very good, really. He was somehow able to keep America on the line, and the latter didn't seem to have any problem with it.

Sighing again, he rolled his sleeves up to the elbow, and began one of the final inspections on America's plane; as he knew that America would probably have to leave tomorrow morning.

* * *

Excited as he was, America could swear that he was far more ecstatic about General Yao's visit. For all he knew, the man was a great General of the far east, and he had lots of influences on other lands; even here, in the far west land of Altyan.

Oh, and by the way, speaking about ranks, he himself was a newly-promoted Captain with his own Alpha Team. It consisted of Canada, his long-time and brother-like friend; Japan, one of his best friend and the tech-master; and France, the well-known player but a veteran soldier nonetheless. And of course, a hero like him as the leader!

…But even as it was, he still stood there in front of the mirror, fidgeting around. He yanked out his watch from his pocket, glanced at it quickly before adjusting his collar for the last time.

Taking in a lungful of air, he finger-combed his fringes for the _very_ last time, and rushed out of the washroom. He had stowed his bomber jacket inside his locker as Canada had told him, and now he had to try to stay calm… which he was failing rather miserably. _Oh to hell with it._

He stopped in front of the Brigadier-General's office. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, America opened the door and stepped inside. "Captain F. Jones, reporting for duty, sir." He forced himself to salute and keep a straight face.

"Yes - ah? Captain Jones?" The Brigadier-General blinked, "never expected you to show up this fast." He gestured for America to take a seat, which he followed suit.

"Um… do you have something for me, sir?" America inquired.

The Brigadier-General pulled out a red file from his drawer and laid it on his table, pushing it slightly towards America. "Take it easy, young man. This," he began, "is your new mission. Personal mission, I mean."

The American could only gape at that sentence. Noticing his state, the Brigadier-General paused and blinked again. "Is there… anything wrong, Captain?" He was half afraid that his subordinate would faint or collapse.

Snapping back into reality America stood up immediately, saluted in a flash and sputtered, "n-no sir - I mean no sir!"

"Hey, no need to be that strict in here, Captain. Just take it easy." The Brigadier-General laughed light-heartedly. "So then, anyway, you'll be getting two additional team members because of this mission. And no, they won't be taken away from you after you did this mission. Oh, and since this will be your team's first personal mission, I hope you won't let me down."

"Sir yes sir! Nothing will stand in my way and I won't let you down!" The Captain replied back, grinning widely.

"Very well then." The Brigadier-General leaned back into his chair, joining the younger man's grin. "You are dismissed, and remember that I'm counting on you and your team."

So the blond left his superior's office with the wide grin still firmly in place, and the red file in his right hand. All he had in mind now was the mission, and he stormed off to the hangar, eager to tell Canada about their first mission as an independent team.

"Canada!!" He yelled from afar and skidded to a halt near Japan. "And hiya, Japan!"

"Afternoon, Captain." The black-haired man smiled in return.

America patted his friend's shoulder lightly and brought the red file up. "Guess what I've got," he drawled playfully, still grinning.

"A new mission?" Canada guessed from below America's Valkanus.

Nodding excitedly, America flapped the red file above his head. "Yeah! And this time it's our personal mission; we'll be doing it on our own! We won't be helping other teams but doing it alone!"

"Really?" Canada pulled himself out from below the Valkanus and stood up immediately.

"What is it about, Captain?" Japan piped up.

That question caused America to pause in his excitement. "Umm…" he started, rubbing the back of his head, "I haven't seen it yet?" He let out a nervous laugh. "But the Brigadier-General said that we'll get two additional team members though!"

Canada sighed, then looked around the hangar, "speaking of team members, have anyone seen Lt. Bonnefoy?"

"I've not been gone for more than an hour and someone missed me already?" France announced his arrival grandly, earning him a scowl from America.

"It's more than an hour already, France, and shut up. And button up your shirt." America warned, crossing his arms and glaring at the older man, "we only have a one-hour break and you even used that short amount of time to do _that_?" He shook his head, "you're impossible."

Japan and Canada had turned their heads somewhere in between, facing the Valkanus, and they were on a silent agreement that neither of them would interfere unless it got across the line. Canada was already below the Valkanus again, and Japan had averted his attention to his laptop. He has faced situations like this more than twice, but maybe it was just in his nature that he'd never get used to it.

America observed his subordinate bowing slightly in order to button up his shirt, but paused when he noticed something. Smacking his forehead, he shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "Man, you'd never stop doing that, huh France?"

"Oh no, not that, Captain," France winked. "I won't ask you to understand - even do - things like that… but well, you know." He chuckled.

At that commentary the captain's blue eyes took on a sharper edge. "France…" He growled dangerously.

Japan cleared his throat to get their attentions, and it worked. "Uh, Captain? I think you and France-san are about to pass the line here."

The younger blond did stop, but he was still glaring at the older blond. "Fine," he grumbled under his breath, "Japan, can you look for our two supposed-to-be missing team members?"

The Sergeant-Major stood up, placing his laptop on the small table beside him. "Sure, Captain." He answered lightly, "what do they look like?"

"Uh umm…" America tried to remember, but nothing came to his mind. "I didn't really listen to the Brigadier-General."

"Oh." The look on Japan's face was enough to make the peeking Canada shake his head. He was about to get out from the plane when a voice came.

"Ve~ Are you Captain F. Jones by any way?"

The three soldiers whirled around to see the owner of the voice, and since Canada couldn't turn, he only slid himself out.

"Good afternoon, Captain F. Jones, sir." The taller, more serious man saluted.

America had no idea of how to reply, so he just saluted back. "Yeah, and um… and who are you guys?"

"I'm Second Lieutenant Vargas, Captain! But you can just call me Italy, ve~" Italy waved, "and this one here is First Lieutenant Ludwig, or Germany for short."

"We're the two additional members to your team, Captain." Germany added.

Bolting towards the newly arrived duo, America shook their hands enthusiastically. "Hiya Italy, and Germany too! Welcome to the team, I'm Captain F. Jones, but just call me America!" And he pulled them near his team, "this is my team - you two are already in - that one's Second Lieutenant Bonnefoy or France; this one's our tech-master, Sergeant-Major Honda or Japan," he paused, pointing to Canada, "that one below the plane's Canada, our Head Engineer!"

"Nice to meet you all, ve!" Italy waved happily, while Germany only greeted with a slight smile. After the short introduction, he approached the still-chatting America.

"Captain-" He was cut off by America's slap on his back.

"No need to call me with those rank thingies, Germany! 'S just feels better to call each other with their names, 'cause those ranks only makes it harder to be friendlier!" The American laughed.

The German blinked once, twice; before he coughed lightly. "So um, America?" He called, "are you ready for tomorrow?"

"…Huh? Tomorrow? Ready for what, tomorrow?" The captain repeated, dumbfounded.

It was Canada who answered the question. "He mean the mission, America. Knowing you, it's not strange that you haven't read the document, instead rushing over here to tell us," he paused, "not like I'd complain though."

America snapped his fingers after Canada finished, grabbed the file and then sat on the floor. The rest of them followed after him shortly. He pulled the first paper along with some more that looked like maps. But America was America, so he let the maps untouched, leaving them to Japan to take care of.

"Where are we going to operate, America?" France asked.

"It's uh, this um…" He mumbled, brows furrowing as he tried to figure it out. "Uh, Japan?" He called, more for help though.

"That'd be Norydvask Zen, America-san, France-san." Japan answered lightly, "a land in the far north, probably one of the coldest areas in the world. Since nobody has really returned from there, the information about the land is very limited."

"…That?" France deadpanned, "you have _got_ to be kidding me."

Germany piped up, "unfortunately, Lt., that's right. Though…" He didn't get the chance to continues because America exploded happily first.

"I'm gonna be the one to search the mainland!!" America yelled excitedly after being quiet for some time, causing his friends to turn to him. He stopped. "Um… is there anything wrong guys? Is it because I get to do all the cool stuffs?"

Japan sighed inside. "It's not about that, America-san… truthfully, we all are happy for you. You finally get a step closer to your dream."

"It's a wild nature over there, America. Only the strong will survive." Canada tried to coax his friend.

But instead of calming down, America beamed up even more than before. "No prob! A hero like me will survive through anything even against the forces of nature!" He punched the air.

All of the team members could only shake their heads, except for Italy. "Yeah, ve! That's the spirit, Captain!"

Grinning widely America smacked the red file on the floor. "Awesome! So now 's time to talk about our position and things!"

And so the six soldiers discussed their mission, locations and positions and other possible events that might occur. They started at about two o'clock, and it was supposed to be a quick and clear briefing… but as usual, it got much longer, and they finally finished their meeting at seven.

It was America who ended the briefing, as his stomach started to complain. "Boy I'm hungry!" He whined, rubbing his belly.

"You should go to bed, America. You'll have to leave early tomorrow." Canada suggested.

"Nah," he shook his head, standing up, "I'm gonna go and grab something from the McD first. You guys can go back and rest." He began to walk towards the hangar's gate, waving his hand to his team.

"America-san, wait up!" Japan called. He approached his captain and said, "I've created some new programs for your Valkanus in order to keep it alive in the cold. Don't be surprised with the changes, though… all important notes are in here." He took a small USB-like device from his chest pocket, and passed it to the blond. "Please don't forget to read it carefully, Captain. I'll be helping Canada out with the preparations."

"Ah, yes! Thanks a bunch, Japan!" Grinning, he continued, "I'm counting on you two, OK?"

The black-haired man bowed slightly, "anytime, America-san. If there's anything else you need, you know where to look for me."

After saying thanks again, the blond continued his walk to the McDonalds that was situated outside the base. It usually took him 15 minutes with normal walk, but this time he decided to do a little jogging, cutting the usual amount of time by about five minutes.

The weather outside was rather cold, as it was already approaching winter. On his hand America held a plastic bag, containing one Big Mac, a large French Fries and two cans of Diet Coke. Another half-bitten Big Mac was grasped on his right hand, halfway to his mouth.

He paused on his track, staring up to the dark sky. There was barely any stars up there, and America muttered to himself, "I wonder what'd be waiting for me tomorrow…" Shrugging, he continued to walk again, biting a part of his Big Mac.

"Whatever it is, I guess any future's not ours to see… but ours to change."

* * *

A/N: This is my first try on Hetalia fandom, and it's not beta-ed... so if you notice mistakes, I'd be grateful if you would point them out.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Not beta-ed, done in the middle of a week full of exam... I myself don't know how I miraculously happen to finish this. So if you spot any mistakes, I hope you readers would point them out. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

"Hey, America! Come on, wake up!"

The first response that Canada got was the other blond instantly turning his back to the window. And then few seconds later came a muffled sleepy groan, and the thick blanket being pulled until the head.

"Come on, America! It's more than half past seven already!" Canada said.

"Hnn." America replied shortly. "…Wait for another five minutes, Canada… still sleepy."

"America, the mission is supposed to start before eight! And if you're not waking up now you'd be late!" Canada chided lightly. "And yes, you won't be able to get your breakfast if you don't wake up now."

It was Canada's last sentence that jerked the captain back to life, twisting himself free from his white quilt. He dashed towards the bathroom, grabbing his uniform from the top of his closet and slammed the bathroom door with force that it rattled a second or two. "Canada, tell Japan and the others I'd be a lil late!"

The blond outside the bathroom sighed, but he took his captain's glasses and jacket and prepared it for him nonetheless. After doing so he left his captain's cabin, and walked towards the hangar.

About 20 minutes later America arrived at the hangar, panting heavily. "Mornin' everyone!" He greeted happily, contradictory to his sweaty appearance.

The rest of his team answered with different styles - Japan bowing, Germany and France nodding, and Italy waving his hand.

"Yeah, okay then!" He declared happily as he tried to control his breathing. "So," he began, "is everything done?"

"_Oui_, it's pretty much done here. We were just waiting for you to show up." France added.

"Ah, yeah." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that. But I still showed up, right?"

"At the last minutes."

America half-pouted, half-grumbled at France's response. Okay, so he was almost late. But that was because he'd read all the notes Japan had given to him inside that device yesterday!

…aside from the fact that he had hoped that Japan had included some new video games for him. But much to his disappointment, the Sergeant-Major hadn't. The device was full of technical data he'd made, precautions and instructions about Norydvask Zen and how to survive.

And from all that he could make a conclusion - he was very eager to do this mission, and succeed.

He shook his head, clearing his mind from all other stuff but this mission. This is his - no, _their_ first mission and he was sure as hell that he wouldn't let them down. Especially when he was in charge and about to do all the cool stuff.

"America, we're ready." Canada informed him from the side of the plane.

"'kay. France, Germany and Italy, get ready in your position." America said as he jogged towards his plane, adjusting his glasses and fixed his bomber jacket.

"Oh yeah, America?" Canada called.

"Hmm?"

He pointed towards the back of the pilot's seat, "your warm clothes, jackets and probably other things that you might need are all in there."

Giving his friend a wide grin and a thumbs-up, before jumping into the cockpit.

The Captain then did all safety procedures the military had taught back in the academy days and checked the pre-flight situations, powering up the plane slowly. The radars and sensors flickered into life, and not too long later the Valkanus and its proud pilot were ready to take off. Before he closed his cockpit he gave the staying personnel of his team a cocksure grin, which was returned by a salute. He wore his pilot helmet before easing into his usual sitting position.

And then when he felt that his plane are all ready and set, he took off towards the bright morning sky; full of adventures and things he still didn't know. And he was very eager to find them all out.

He flicked on the comm switch, immediately finding the base's frequency and France, Germany and Italy's. "France, come in. You hear me?"

"Oui_, Captain. No need to worry._"

"'kay then. Germany, Italy, d'you copy?"

"_Yes sir, copy that._" Germany replied, and America could hear Italy's barely audible answer.

"Awesome." America commented, and tried for Japan and Canada. "Japan, Canada, we're all set here. The coast clear?"

When Canada's answer came, it was a bit fizzled. "_Clearer as it could ever be, America._"

After counting the amount of time he would probably need to arrive at his destination, the captain turned his on in-flight laptop (courtesy of Japan) and plugged the device he had.

He could only stare at his screen, which was somehow full of files and folders he didn't see yesterday. Noticing a blinking notes icon at the bottom left corner, he selected it and began to read.

"_America-san, it's not like I didn't give you any kinds of games in this device. I've put some of the new ones, along with some you probably don't have, but you could only use them here. Those games are only to be used in the Valkanus, not in ordinary computers… since I guess, if I did give you the games that could be played anywhere, you wouldn't be reading the precautions I gave you. You'd play the games instead._"

America smiled lightly at his friend's attention, and pulled the speaker. "Hey Japan?"

"_Yes, America-san?_" Came Japan's reply.

"Thanks."

There was no answer for several seconds, and when it did come, it was the answer that the aviator had expected. "_You're welcome, and anytime, Captain._"

And so after Japan's reply, America set his plane into autopilot mode, since he knew that he wouldn't need to do anything but to wait for several more hours. He plugged in his game controller and wore his headset, completely enjoying himself in the luxury of his Valkanus.

"_America, I know what you're doing, but still, give some attention to your surroundings, okay?_" France reminded from the comm line.

"No worries, France. I know what I'm doing." The captain replied easily.

The condition like that went on for about six more hours, and America had finished two cans of Coca-Cola, two Big Macs and won three of the games. He lowered his headset and clung it to his neck as he pressed the comm button. "Germany, how much longer am I supposed to arrive there?"

"_About several more minutes, Captain. In fact, we only have about seven or eight more minutes to leave you on your own._"

"Oh?" America straightened up, stowing his headset back to its original place. "'S that so?"

"_Yeah, ve! Be careful when you're on your own, okay America?_" It was Italy's turn to answer.

"All right!" He exclaimed, saving his current game progress and flicked on the main comm line. "Japan, Canada, you hear me?"

"_More than enough, America._" Canada replied, "_get back to your manual piloting mode, America, because France, Germany and Italy are about to return a few more minutes._"

Even though nobody could see him, he nodded nonetheless. He unplugged his game controller, and stowed it inside the drawer below the headset's. Then he switched back into manual piloting control, and pulled another control device from below the main handle.

"Hey Canada?"

"_Yeah?_"

"D'ya think I could use the X-2 controller?" He asked, a bit unsure.

His brother stayed silent for a while, probably asking Japan about it. He replied seconds later, "_I've just asked Japan about the X-2 controller, and he said that he's- uh?_" He paused as the Sergeant-Major called him. "_Oh, sure - Hey America, Japan said that it's fine and you can use it, but please don't use it on emergency situations, okay?_"

"Yeah sure Canada." America replied with a grin.

Just when he finished his conversation with Canada, France called, "_get ready, America._"

"Ready whenever you are."

"_Good._"

And the captain poured all his attention, focusing on one single thing: to break free from their current formation. France, Germany and Italy were going to leave him here, and he would have to make it on his own to land safely on Norydvask Zen. _That's not much of a problem, isn't it?_ America thought happily.

…Except that, what he didn't know, was that just when France and the others left him and turned back, his radars and sensors began to dysfunction. He could only tilt his head and wrinkle his brows, staring at the spinning and changing-every-now-and-then lines. Shrugging, he continued his flight with a low but cheerful hum, because according to his timer he still had about two hours before landing.

America lowered his plane about one hour and 50 minutes later, as he could already see the white land below. Or more like nothing but white.

"Oh cool!" He whispered amazedly, trying to get a better look from his transparent cockpit. He could feel the chilling weather now, and he rummaged the small cabinet located behind his seat in order to grab his coat. His bomber jacket was usually enough to keep him warm in Altyan winters, but both Japan and Canada had informed him that the northern winter is far fiercer than their place.

The Valkanus landed about 10 minutes later on a pure, thick blanket of snow. Opening the cockpit, America jumped out from his plane, expecting to land on a pretty solid ground.

But he slipped just when his feet touched the ground, landing on his butt instead. And it led to him bolting upwards because of the freezing coldness. "That _was_ freezing." He commented wryly to himself, rubbing his hands. "Now let's see…" He opened a map that Canada had left on his table shortly after he woke up, and read the whole page. Even so, after a quick reading, America concluded only one thing: "Just go north from your current landing position."

Then America plugged Japan's device into the Valkanus' Operating System, and ran a program titled 'SM'. He waited for several seconds, before he leaped backwards because of shock - and amazement - that his Valkanus, his _plane_, had turned into a… well. A snowmobile accented with the Valkanus' main design - fiery blaze, an eagle's head, and the number '50'.

His first impression on the snowmobile version of his _plane_, was, "Japan, if you were here, I'd probably choke you into suffocation 'cause I have no idea of what am I supposed to say about this thing." He ran his right ungloved hand across the white body, though he yanked his hand back after two seconds to wear his glove back. "I wonder how he stuffed all those machines of the Valkanus into a machine… _this_ size."

Well America had never been a - good - liar, since the fact was; the snowmobile was far smaller than the Valkanus… even though the plane itself got into the category of 'mini yet lethal'. And for some reasons he couldn't guess, it had an extra seat for one more person behind the main driver's seat. With very - scratch that, almost no covering around the seat for protection against the wind.

"Japan…" He cried out loud in a bit pleading voice, "how the hell am I supposed to ride this with my usual 120 and more speed with _no_ covering?"

X

Back in the base the Sergeant-Major had sneezed twice when he arrived at the hangar after his 15-minutes break.

"Japan, you okay?" Canada asked.

"I'm fine, Canada-san. Just, it felt like somebody was talking about me."

Canada shrugged, "oh, sure then."

The two soldiers walked together to their respective places as they waited for the three other members of the team to arrive. And that was when Canada spotted something wrong with his captain's current coordinate. "Hey, Japan, can you come over here for a moment?" He gestured for the black-haired man to sit next to him, "here, look at this."

After a second or two, realization hit the Sergeant-Major like a tidal wave and he threw his hands upwards, expressing his exasperation. "Oh great, just great."

"As I thought, even a map would never do him any good." The blond added with a shake of his head. "I'll try to contact him before he got anywhere too far." But he was stopped as he felt a hand gripping his shoulder firmly, so he turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

Japan looked at Canada with mixed emotions: wary, panic, and fear. "Canada-san, just when this is our first personal mission up to date, I forgot to tell America one thing about his destination."

Gulping, the engineer nodded, a sign for Japan to continue.

"The most fatal, or lethal in this case, thing about Norydvask Zen - all magnetic waves, EMP's and such don't work there. That's why there is almost no data and information about that place - they simply couldn't return here."

X

It was already more than three hours since his landing, and America only drove at 60 to 80 kph, coupled with the fact that a raging little snowstorm didn't help at all. He had tried on 120 once… and had to stop for 10 minutes to hug himself to keep some warmth. He slowed his Valkanus and parked it next to what looked like a tree, and opened the folded map. "Let's see… it said that I should find a post-like thing near here…" He raised his head and searched for the said thing. "Ah, there it is!"

Then he jumped back to his Valkanus and accelerated it into 100 kph…

…and was thrown forward as his snowmobile leaped higher than a meter, landing on its side. He himself landed on the ice, not snow, and skidded and crashed the post. "Yeow!!" He cringed.

America grumbled and brought himself up, muttering, "damn that hurts" as he trotted towards his transportation and returned it to the original standing position. When he tried to restart it and he got no response at all, he slapped his forehead and shook his head. "It needs a break just when I need it the most." Pulling a toolbox from behind his seat, the captain pulled a wrench and something resembling a steely pole. Then he began working on the machine, not aware of the surroundings as he was completely focused to fix it.

And he didn't notice someone approaching him from behind.

"What are _you_ doing in here?"

The aviator froze in that instant, eyes widening. He could feel the vicious shiver of both panic and fear tore through him, and he dared himself turn around and look. Bracing himself for what might lurk behind him, the captain gulped visibly.

When he did turn around he was met with a pair of glinting things. He had opened his mouth to shout, but when he caught sight of something resembling a cloak flagged by the storm; America couldn't believe that the next scream was his.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, smashing the glinting thing with the wrench on his right hand.

The cloaked figure let out a small yelp as the soldier jerked his body upwards and immediately got into combat position. "I was just asking what were you doing, you bloody bollocks!"

Then a dim light shone through the clouds for a short moment, illuminating the standing figure. A pair of green eyes was glaring right at him, furrowed brows and a hard scowl. What America thought had been a kind of scythe was actually the barrel of a long rifle.

He let himself fall to the thick blanket of snow, not even paying attention to the biting chill. Well he could still feel it, but it was nothing like the surge of relief flowing through him. America closed his eyes, letting out a half-helpless, half-relieved laugh.

"Hell, I thought I was about to die a second ago!"


End file.
